I attended both nights with my daughter and friend Dan from Hamburg NY..
First night (Saturday) was at The Rosedale United Church where Gordon used to sing on Christmas Eve for decades.
Second night (Sunday)was at the new location of HUGH'S ROOM LIVE - also a (decommissioned) church..
It was so wonderful to see and hear all of the artists on the bill who had all played in many of the previous shows from 2003 to 2019..Sarah Slean was the only new addition.
On Sunday afternoon we took a ride up the Carefree Highway (#12) from my place in Whitby straight into Orillia. Dan hadn't been to Orillia since September 2002 when we were there to see Gordon in his 2nd show of 2. It was the night he fell so ill.
The sound at the Rosedale Church was not the greatest but the ambience was lovely. The new HUGH'S was amazing sound and even better ambience!
FROM a FACEBOOK post I made: I attended both of THE WAY WE FEEL celebration shows in Toronto last weekend. (Playlists at youtube channel - lightfootfan) Gordon loved attending the shows and playing a tune or two when he attended many times over the years 2003-2019. I attended all but a handful over those years and was SO happy to see the artists at The Rosedale United Church where Gordon sang on XMAS eve for decades with his last appearance on XMAS eve 2021 and at the new location of HUGH'S Room. On Oct.22 2023 I also took a trip 90 minutes north on The Carefree Highway (#12) that runs right into Orillia from my home here in Whitby. A friend who hadn't been to Orillia with me since that fateful night in September 2002 when Gordon fell so terribly ill prior to his concert at The Orillia Opera House wanted to see the statue in Tudhope Park, the bust at The Opera House, St.Paul's church and where Gordon is resting forever with his mum and dad at St.Andrew's-St.James' cemetery. His name will be engraved on the headstone in spring 2024. I was last in Orillia to visit these sites after the public visitation on May 7 2023 at St.Paul's United Church.. The unbalancing shift in my life since May 1 still has me off kilter and I don't know if it will ever be righted. I attended the GOLDEN LEAVES statue unveiling at Tudhope Park 8 years earlier on Oct.23 2015 on a very similar October day. In my head at the cemetery last week as I heard them back in 2015, the words in ''Hiway Songs'' played in my mind and will not leave.. .................................................. .................................................. ... ''When I stand on my own sod
It feels so good to be home, by God
The winter wind has turned my head
But I always came up warm somehow. .Just for now I'd like to rest
In the shade of a maple tree
To the blue Canadian sky
I'll say a prayer for the world out there.''
VIDEO from 2015 -
.................................................. ............................................ Rest easy dear Gordon, you are home now in your beloved hometown of Orillia, in the Canada you loved and never left....... I thank you, I miss you and always will.
your 'tag along' friend, Char
I have included some photos from 2015 and the bust unveiling in 2017. all are labelled. Facebook decides how they are displayed..click to open and enlarge..Lightfoot working group report
In September, council created a working group to look into the possibility of bringing a Gordon Lightfoot Museum to the community, and on Monday city council will discuss the working group’s report.
The working group has met on a weekly basis, identified potential locations for a museum, developed a marketing pitch, and been in contact with the executors of the Lightfoot estate to determine the availability of Lightfoot memorabilia. However, Lightfoot’s executors informed the working group that their primary focus has been managing the late folk legend’s estate, and they have not made a decision on any memorabilia at this time.
The working group has suggested bringing another report back to council once the legalities of the Lightfoot estate have been finalized.